THE COURIER / Sean Ingram
Arkansas Tech Head Football Coach Steve Mullins (far left) leads the Wonder Boys onto the field Saturday before the first Great American Conference athletic competition. Tech and Arkansas-Monticello played the first conference game at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello. See more on page 4B.

MONTICELLO — Tropical Storm Lee rained on the University of Arkansas-Monticello’s parade an hour before the game started, and through three quarters of football, it appeared the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys were on their way to the first Great American Conference football win in history.

The Boll Weevils, however, wanted to make some history of their own — and they did, with 28 unanswered points to take a 38-30 lead late in the fourth quarter, then they held off a last-minute Arkansas Tech charge for the victory.

If this is the way the rest of the Great American Conference football season is going to be, get ready for a wide-open, hard-hitting, roller-coaster ride.

The Wonder Boys opened the third quarter at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium with a 31-10 advantage over UAM after their 11-play, 80-yard drive ended with another 5-yard TD toss, this one from freshman quarterback Preston Condor to senior wide receiver AJ Whitmore.

Unfortunately for Tech, that made the Boll Wevils angry.

Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Hunter Leppert connected with Greg Taylor on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 11:47 to go in the fourth quarter. Crowley’s PAT pulled Arkansas-Monticello within 31-17 after an 11-play that covered 96 yards.

The Weevils took advantage of Arkansas Tech’s second turnover of the game to make it 31-24 just 47 seconds later. Wonder Boys junior running back Tavin Davis fumbled, and UAM’s Nakita Myles scampered 25 yards up the middle untouched into the end zone with 11:02 remaining in the game.

After stopping Arkansas Tech on their next drive, the Boll Weevils closed within a point with 5:23 remaining. Arkansas-Monticello needed 12 plays to cover 63 yards, then Leppert hit DJ Stephens on an 8-yard touchdown pass. But Crowley’s PAT was blocked by Wonder Boys junior defensive lineman Roland Dampeer, and the Weevils trailed 31-30.

Leppert completed a 5-yard pass, Tech’s defense knocked down his second pass, then the freshman completed a first-down pass for Arkansas-Monticello to the Wonder Boys 47.

The Weevils backed up to the Tech 43 after a holding penalty, then rushed out of bounds to the 45. After a pass to midfield, Leppert connected with Kenneth Robey on a 33-yard pass play to the Arkansas Tech 17 with 45 seconds left.

After Leppert spiked the ball to stop the clock, senior transfer Kenneth Robey caught the pass and scampered around the left side and into the end zone. The two-point play gave UAM its first lead of the game, 38-30, with 42 seconds remaining.

Arkansas Tech got a great kickoff return inside the UAM 30, but back-to-back 15-yard penalties pushed the Wonder Boys back to their 46 with 26 seconds showing. The first penalty was a block in the back, but the killer was a personal foul call on Tech.

Condor hit Whitmore at the Weevil 36 after a gain of 18 yards.

After an incomplete pass, Condor was sacked and Arkansas Tech recovered its third turnover. Condor’s pass was knocked down inside the 10, and facing 4th-and-14 on the last play of the game, Condor’s pass was knocked down in the end zone by UAM defenders.

The Wonder Boys, who tied the nation with the most turnovers (39) last season, started the 2011 season by forcing UAM to commit the game’s first turnover. Royel Johnson fumbled the opening kickoff, and Tech’s free safety Donnell Jones recovered to set up the Wonder Boys’ first touchdown.

The Wonder Boys made it 14-0 when junior running back Trayshun King scored from 1 yard out. That was made possible by Tech junior linebacker Chris Strong, whose interception of Damon Wicker was Arkansas-Monticello’s second turnover, then Strong returned it 53 yards.

The Boll Weevils made it 14-7 when UAM’s second quarterback, Hunter Leppert, connected with Jamal Nixon on a 72-yard touchdown pass down the right side with 5:22 to go in the first quarter.

The Wonder Boys made it 17-7 on Vazquez’s 27-yard field goal two minutes into the second quarter that capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive. But the Boll Weevils answered with a 31-yard field goal by Ryan Crowley with 2:43 left in the first half.

Arkansas Tech ended the second quarter with an 8-play, 65-yard drive that ended with freshman Preston Condor’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Whitmore with :13 to go in the half.

Vazquez’s PAT set the halftime score at 24-10.

Arkansas Tech stays on the road next week when it goes to Bolivar, Mo., to face Southwest Baptist.